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Buddha: And what monks, is the faculty of mindfulness? Here, monks, the noble disciple has mindfulness, he is endowed with perfect mindfulness and introspection, he is one who remembers, who recollects what was done and said long before. Saṃyutta Nikāya V 197-8.
Asaṅga: mindfulness is the non-forgetfulness of the mind with respect to a familiar object, having the function of nondistraction. Abhidharmasamuccaya, Pradhan, ed., p. 6.6 Śāntideva: In brief, this alone is the definition of introspection: the repeated examination of the state of one s body and mind. Bodhicaryāvatāra: V:108 Asaṅga: Mindfulness and introspection are taught, for the first prevents the attention from straying from the meditative object, while the second recognizes that the attention is straying. Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra: XVIII:53
One-pointedness, or concentration on one object, or focusing the mind on one object is like a steady lamp-flame in a windless place. It is like a firmly fixed pillar that cannot be shaken by the wind. It is like water that binds together several substances to form one concrete compound. This mental state prevents its adjuncts from dissipation and fixes them on one object. This one-pointedness is one of the five Jhāna factors. When it is developed and cultivated, it is called Samādhi. It is the germ of all attentive, selected, focused, or concentrated consciousness. Narada Maha Thera, A Manual of Abhidhamma, 108-9.
William James: Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatter-brained state which in French is called distraction, and Zerstreutheit in German. The Principles of Psychology, 403-4
Nāgasena: Mindfulness has the has both the characteristic of calling to mind and the characteristic of taking hold. He explained further, mindfulness, when it arises, calls to mind wholesome and unwholesome tendencies, with faults and faultless, inferior and refined, dark and pure, together with their counterparts mindfulness, when it arises, follows the courses of beneficial and unbeneficial tendencies: these tendencies are beneficial, these unbeneficial; these tendencies are helpful, these unhelpful. Thus, one who practices yoga rejects unbeneficial tendencies and cultivates beneficial tendencies. Milindapañha 37-38.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama: I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, 15
The Buddha encouraged his disciples to find out what really constitutes true happiness and, based on this understanding, to pursue it. Majjhima Nikāya III 230 Mundane happiness stems from what we get from the world ~ the hunter-gatherer phase of human civilization Genuine wellbeing stems from what we bring to the world ~ the cultivator phase of human civilization
Ethics ~ social & environmental wellbeing Mental Balance ~ psychological wellbeing Wisdom ~ spiritual wellbeing
William James: In what does a moral act consist when reduced to its simplest and most elementary form?... it consists in the effort of attention by which we hold fast to an idea which but for that effort of attention would be driven out of the mind by the other psychological tendencies that are there In education the power of voluntarily attending is the point of the whole procedure. Just as a balance turns on its knife-edges, so upon it our moral destiny turns. Talks to Teachers: On Psychology; and to students on some of Life s Ideals, 126-7. Buddha: Mindfulness leads to wellbeing gained through maintaining pure ethical conduct, and to wellbeing derived from restraint of the senses. Majjhima Nikāya I 346
William James: I suspect that neither the nature nor the amount of our work is accountable for the frequency and severity of our breakdowns, but that their cause lies rather in those absurd feelings of hurry and having no time, in that breathlessness and tension, that anxiety of feature and that solicitude for results, that lack of inner harmony and ease... Talks to Teachers,140-1. David Galin: The loss of the ability of self-monitoring is more damaging to the personality than the loss of a sensory faculty or motor functions. Theoretical Reflections on Awareness, Monitoring, and Self in Relation to Anosognosia, Consciousness and Cognition I, pp. 152-162.
Śāntideva: A person whose mind is distracted lives between the fangs of mental afflictions Recognizing that the mental afflictions are eliminated by vipaśyanā imbued with śamatha, first seek śamatha. Bodhicaryāvatāra: IX:1 Düdjom Lingpa: Until you come to your senses and gain control of your mind, whatever you do, there is no way for your behavior to be anything but insane. The Vajra Essence, 235
Theodor Waitz: The first and most important, but also the most difficult, task at the outset of an education is to overcome gradually the inattentive dispersion of mind. Lehrbuch der Psychologie als Naturwissenschaft, 632. William James: Geniuses are commonly thought to excel in the ability of sustained voluntary attention, but it is their genius making them attentive, not their attention making geniuses of them. The Principles of Psychology, 423 William James: The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will...an education which should improve this faculty would be the education par excellence. But it is easier to define this ideal than to give practical directions for bringing it about. The Principles of Psychology, 424
Mindfulness: the ability to sustain voluntary attention continuously upon a familiar object, without forgetfulness or distraction Introspection: the ability to monitor the quality of one s attention, swiftly recognizing whether it has succumbed to either excitation or laxity These two faculties are used to successively and synergistically cultivate the qualities of relaxation, stillness, and vividness. Psychological wellbeing: A sense of wellbeing that is not contingent on external or internal stimuli, and is qualified by serenity, well-being, and contentment, rather than excitement and arousal
Tsongkhapa: In order to examine a wall tapestry in a dark room, if you illuminate it with a radiant, steady lamp, you can vividly examine the images in the tapestry. But if the lamp is either dim, or, even if it is bright, flickers due to wind, your observation will be impaired. Likewise, in order to fathom the nature of any phenomenon, with penetrating intelligence supported by unwavering, sustained, voluntary attention, you can clearly observe the real nature of the phenomenon under investigation. Medium Exposition of the Stages on the Path Wilhelm Wundt: The service which it [the experimental method] can yield consists essentially in perfecting our inner observation, or rather, as I believe, in making this really possible, in any exact sense. Philosophische Studien, x. 121
Mindfulness is cultivated in the practice of śamatha, then it is applied in the practice of vipaśyanā through the careful investigation of the nature of the body, feelings, mental states, and phenomena at large. Saṃyutta Nikāya V 156
This is the direct path, monks, for purification of beings, for overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for overcoming of suffering and grief, for reaching the authentic path, for realization of nirvana namely, the four close applications of mindfulness. Majjhima Nikāya I 55 This path of mindfulness entails the integrated cultivation of genuine wellbeing, wisdom, and virtue ~ the essence of a meaningful life.
Implement rigorous, sustained training in firstperson, contemplative methods of inquiry to complement third-person, scientific methods. Explore the broadest possible range of states of consciousness, integrating the methods of contemplative inquiry with those of neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, physics.